Absorbent bandage.



No. 810,129. PATENTED JAN. l0, 1906. W. R. GREEN.

ABSORBBNT BANDAGE.

APPLICATIONFILED JUNE 16, 1904.

WILLARD R. GREEN, OF

yPATENT OFFICE.

MUSOATINE, IOWA, ASSIGNOR TO THE AMERICAN ABSORBENT FIBER COMPANY, OF PORTLAND, MAINE, A CORPORATION OF MAINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

ABSORBENT BANDAGE..

Patented Jan. 16,1906.

Application filed .Tune 16, 1904:. Serial No. 212.897.

T0 1f/ZZA whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLARD R. GREEN, a citizen of the United States, residing in Muscatine, in the county of Muscatine and State of Iowa, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Absorbent Bandages, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to that class of articles commonly known as Uabsorbent band. ages, and has for its object to provide an improved article of this class of simple construction, efficient in action, and adapted to be manufactured at low cost.

In the drawings accompanying and forming a part of this specification, Figure 1 is a perspective view of an absorbent bandage made in accordance with my present improvements. Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional vew taken in line 2 2, Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view of a portion of the bandage, this view being taken in line 3 3, Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a perspective view further illustrating one of the features of the present improve-` ment in a preferred form thereof. Fig. 5 is aview similar to Fig. 3, showing another form of organization of the absorbent material.

Similar characters of reference indicatev like figures in all the drawings.

In absorbent bandages designed for taking up relatively thick fiuids or semifluids there is a tendency for the thicker portions to clot or coagulate, and so impair the absorptive and distributive capacity of the absorbent materials of which the bandage may. be built up. One of the objects of my pres-I ent improvement is to provide a construction and arrangement of the component members of the bandage adapted for overcoming in a large degree the objections referred to and at the same time provide for the employment in the making of the bandages of absorptive materials of low cost and to organize these materials in such mannerr as to develop and maintain a high degree of receptivity and conductivity for the absorbed fluids and semifluids.

In the drawings the absorbent mass of material is represented as divided into two principal portions, an upper receiving member 5 and a lower retaining member 4. It is one of the advantages of my present improvement that both of these members may be made of the same kind or of an analogous tions of the bandage.

mass of absorptive fibrous material, especially of wood in the form of small and narrow shavings or fiber-like strands, these being preferably substantially flat in section and mingled together in miscellaneous directions and suitably compressed or compacted to a proper density for making them have a substantial degree of capillary capacity for taking up and retaining the fluids.

The absorptive materials, including the two portions 4 and 5 thereof, are shown contained in and supported by some suitable cover-sheet, as 22, the end portions of which may be suitably extended in folded form or otherwise, as represented, for instance, in Fig. 1, for providing a means for attachment. The surface of the bandage is shown in Figs. 2 and 3 provided with a plurality of surface sheets, of which the upper sheet 7 constitutes the surface sheet proper, while the lower sheet 6 is in the nature of a coacting and supporting member therefor. One feature of my present improvements relates to the manner in which these sheets are combined together and relative to the other por- The lower sheet 6 is preferably of a relatively open mesh, and this mesh should be of a relatively large size. In practice I prefer about one-eighth of an inch and of suitable dimension. This second or inner sheet 6 is shown (see Fig. 2) carried down inside of the cover-sheet 22, as indicated at 6@ and in practice is preferably closely connected or attached thereto. The outer surface sheet 7 is intended to be of a relatively fine mesh and to be made of a thin and soft fabric, the outer edges being carried down outside of the cover-sheet, as indicated at 7 in Figs. 1 and 2, for forming a smooth and soft surface along the edges of the bandage. The sheet 7 is supported on the second sheet 6 and on the bending of the bandage will have a movement thereon resulting in a kind of scraping action having a tendency to facilitate the passage of relatively thick materials through the two surface sheets into the absorptive space below. The sheet 6 has therefore relatively to the sheet 7 the character of a strain-sheet or netting whose purpose is principally of a mechanical character as to its relation with those members of the bandage which are disposed in immediate connection therewith.

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In the construction of the receivinr member 5 I preferably prepare the material therefor in a preliminary way by forming the same into a relatively large strand, Fig. 4, of a rope-like character. This strand is then bent back and forth on itself, as indicated in a general way in Fig. 4, thereby forming successive portions of the strand into a series of transversely-disposed members 5a, which lie from side to side, with their longitudinal dimensions located transversely of the band"- age. The formation of the fiber-stock of the receiving member 5 into a strand of such character and the building up of this member by bending or folding such strand back and forth in the manner indicated results in forming a series of transversely-disposed side-brace members, as 5, which by reason of 'the preliminary preparation of the iberstock therein have a relatively high resistance to being crushed by -pressure applied longitudinally thereof-that is, transversely of the bandage. These transversely disposed members therefore operate for preventing the undue compression of the bandage by pressure applied to the edges of the same.

The construction of the member 5 in the manner set forth leaves a series of normally open spaces, asv l0, between the successivev portions 5EL of said member 5 and the surface sheet or sheets at the top of the bandage. Said spaces l0 will in some cases be entirely open, while in other cases some of the looser portions of the fiber will extend somewhat into said spaces, thus leaving them normally free, but in practice slightly or partially filled with a looser fiber. This circumstance, however, in view of the looseness of the proj ecting fibers of the portions 5L of the member 5 will not materially reduce the distributive capacity of said spaces.

A similar series of spaces- (indicated by 12, Fig. 3) are located between said members 5a and the upper portion of the lower absorptive member 4. These lower spaces lie in the line of demarcation or plane of demarcation indicated at 8, Figs. 2 and 3, which structurally separates the upper receiving member v5 from the lower retaining member 4. This arrangement of said members, with an operative line of demarcation formed between the same in the construction of the bandage, serves to secure a greater flexibility of the bandage, especially when the absorbent members 4 and 5 are made of fiber-like substance of a relatively coarse texturesuch, for instance, as woody strands mingled together. When the bandage is bent or compressed and then expanded to any considerable extent, a distinct sliding movement of the upper member 5 on said lower member 4 will naturally take place, thereby relieving the component members of the bandage of stress, which would otherwise occur therein.

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In the preferred form of construction herein illustrated the bending of the member 5 involves extremely slight resistance, owing to the manner in which the transverse portions 5'r1 thereof will twist and move relatively to each other, thus leaving the lower portion 4 to be directly bent in accordance with the bending of the bandage itself. ln practice it is intended to make the member 4 of absorbent iiber-stock only slightly compacted, so as to preserve in the said member a relatively high degree of iiexibility. Thus my improvement provides a highly mobile and flexible bandage, notwithstanding all the iber-stock in both of the members 4 and 5 shall be of the same kind and shall also be of a relatively firm and stable material.

When the bandage is bent, thereby causing the members 4 and 5 to bend or move not as individual members, but rather as a larger combined member, there iscreated by such operation a kind of coaction between said members which directly tends to improve and accelerate the process of distribution of the fluids throughout the whole mass of the absorbent material. The transverse portions 5@L of the member 5 naturally in such a case move not only with respect to each other, but they also coact with the upper surface interstices of the lower member 4, and thereby tend to discharge and force into such interstices of said lower member any substances which have accumulated in the space between said member 5a or along the line of demarcation between the two members 4 and 5. This peculiar mechanical action is, under the circumstances indicated, deemed to be of much practical value and importance.

A further feature of the presentimprovements relates to the disposition relatively to each other of the fiber or strands in the member 5 and in the upper part of the member 4, whereby these respective quantities of fiberstock are brought in a general way into a transverse relation to each other. The material of the member 5 being prepared with some degree of twisting thereof, the individual fibers or strands vtherein will normally v lie, most of them, in a substantially longitudinal direction relative to the portions 5a of such member, thereby bringing a large portion of such fiber or strands to lie in a direction transversely of the finished bandage. Similarly, the ber in the lower member 4 will preferably be laid so that the larger part of the same will lie nearly longitudinally of the bandage. This brings relatively a very large proportion of the contacting bers of the two members 4 and 5 into a transverse disposition. This arrangement tends to prevent these members becoming adherent to each other and tends to prevent their fibers becoming intermeshed or matted together. Thus the construction indicated and the nor- IOO mal mode of action between the several members is maintained with a high degree of efficiency.

As seen in Fig. 5, the strand 5 is flattened on its sides, adding depth to this portion of the absorbent, and the lower body 4 of the absorbent is shown also twisted into a strand or rope-like formation, but of larger diameter than the receiving strand and shown of looser twist. This structure, among other things, modifies the amount of chamberspace 12 at the region 8.

Having thus described my invention, I claim- 1. An absorbent bandage comprising supporting means, and an absorbent material carried thereby and made up of fibers or strands located in layers, substantially all of the fibers or strands of one layer running lengthwise of the bandage and substantially all the fibers or strands of the other layer running crosswise thereof.

2. An absorbent bandage comprising supporting means, and an absorbent material carried thereby and made up of fibers or strands located in layers, substantially all of the fibers or strands of one layer running lengthwise of the bandage and substantially all the fibers or strands of the other layer running crosswise thereof, the fibers or strands of one or both layers being twisted.

3. An absorbent bandage comprising supporting means, and an absorbent material carried thereby and made up of fibers or strands located in layers, substantially all of the `fibers or strands of one layer running lengthwise of the bandage and substantially all the fibers or strands of the other layer running crosswise thereof, the fibers or strands of one or both of the layers being folded upon itself a plurality oftimes.

4. An absorbent bandage comprising supporting means, and an absorbent material carried thereby and made up of fibers or strands located in layers, substantially all of the fibers or strands of one layer running lengthwise of the bandage and substantially all the fibers or strands of the other layer running crosswise thereof, the fibers or strands of one or both layers being twisted and folded upon itself a plurality of times.

5. An absorbent bandage comprising supporting means, and an absorbent material carried thereby and made up of woody or analogous fibers or strands located in layers, substantially all of the fibers or strands of one layer running lengthwise of the bandage and substantially all the fibers or strands of the other layer running crosswise thereof,

and the strands or fibers of one or both of the layers being twisted to form a plurality of members located side by side.

6. An absorbent bandage comprising supporting means, and an absorbent fibrous material carried thereby and made up to form a plurality of twisted rope-like members located side by side.

7. An absorbent bandage comprising supporting means, and an absorbent fibrous material carried thereby and made up to form a plurality of twisted rope-like members located side by side and disposed transversely of the supporting member.

8. An absorbent bandage comprising supporting means, and a mass of fibrous absorbent material carried thereby and twisted into one or more rope-like members each folded upon itself a plurality of times, one or more of which members is located transversely of the supporting means.

9. A bandage comprising a cover-sheet, an absorbent material located therein in a comparatively loose mass, and an absorbent material twisted and folded into a plurality of rope-like members.

10. A bandage comprising a cover-sheet, an absorbent material located therein in a comparatively loose mass, and an absorbent material twisted and folded into a plurality of rope-like members and running transversely of the cover-sheet.

11. An absorbent bandage comprising supporting means, an absorbent material carried thereby and comprising one or more strands each folded upon itself a plurality of times and running lengthwise of the cover-sheet, and one or more strands each folded upon itself a plurality of times and running crosswise of the cover-sheet.

12. An absorbent bandage comprising a cover-sheet, an absorbent material located therein and twisted and folded upon itself a number of times lengthwise of the coversheet, and an absorbent material twisted and folded upon itself a number of times crosswise of the dover-sheet.

13. In a bandage the combination of a body of absorptive material, a cover-sheet therefor having an opening, a plurality of surface sheets extending across said opening, one having its edges extending between the absorptive material and the other having its edges overlying the cover-sheet.

Signed at Nos. 9 to 15 Murray street, New York, N. Y., this 9th day of June, 1904.

VILLARD R. GREEN.

Witnesses FRED. J. DOLE, JOHN O. SEIFERT.

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